The Governor of the Bank of England has taken the prospect of an early
interest rate rise off the table.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Mark Carney said that there was “no
immediate need to increase interest rates” in response to concerns that the
sharp recent fall in unemployment would trigger a policy shift. He added
that any change would be gradual.

His words were reiterated yesterday by Paul Fisher, the Bank’s executive
director for markets, who said that there was “no immediate need” to raise
interest rates from the record low of 0.5 per cent.